Saturday, May 22, 2004

Mention of U.Va. president in AJC article on Jim Crow laws

The Atlanta paper (registration required) has this piece on Jim Crow laws, which includes the following:

"De jure segregation largely emerged in tandem with the move to disenfranchise blacks. Proponents of disenfranchisement made a starkly cynical pitch: White competition for black votes was fueling the violence and fraud that made Southern politics so chaotic. So, they asserted, taking the vote away from black citizens would actually restore honesty and rationality to the system. University of Virginia President Edwin A. Alderma[n] hailed disenfranchisement as one of the 'most constructive acts of Southern history.'"